Rebirth
by d o u g h b o y s
Summary: **ON HOLD INDEFINITELY** (See my profile) Bella and Alice danced along the fine line between love and friendship before Edward forced the family to leave. Will Bella learn the truth about Alice's past and why Edward made her leave? And what is up with the Police lately? [AU with tie-ins to the books, post New Moon. Bella and the Cullens begin AH, but this will not be an AH fic.]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer thing: All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer, I don't own Twilight.

**AN: All right, here we go. This will be my first attempt at a story in years, ahha. The only other story I still know where it is was a complete failure, I just completely forgot about it and wasn't writing very well lmao. This story is going to be mostly AU, but there will be tie-ins to the original plot of the Twilight saga. This was actually inspired by a dream I had. I'm not sure if there will be vampires or not yet. I'd like to work them in, but for now assume it's AH since the plot is largely unexplored right now. I'd also love a beta if anyone is willing to pick me up! :)**

**Chapter 1: Bella's POV**

It was that time of year again, where the talented and the hopeful displayed and presented their ideas and contributions to the advancement of technology in society. The host this year was the local shopping center, a winding and weaving building of perfect window shopping.

I found my way through the crowd to one of the smaller stores on a corner, its center racks gutted and moved aside to make way for the hundred or so chairs packed into the long, dark room. I hovered in the doorway for a moment, trying to determine if this was a presentation I wanted to listen to or not.

Most of the people were crammed towards the front, nearly leaning out of their chairs as a portly man with some sort of chin scruff lead his powerpoint enthusiastically. I would have heard what he was rambling on about had I not completely zoned everything out as my vision tunneled on _her_.

It was as if everything slowed down as her presence impacted me. I couldn't believe it. Sure, there were plenty of others there I recognized, from one class or the other, but it had been years since I had seen her, years since we chose not to talk about the ties we once shared. She was radiant, her large blue eyes fixated on the display before her. Her still shapely legs crossed in black slacks, she sat almost like a statue near the back window of the store, staring through the aisle before her. Her arms, clothed in a familiar blue sweater, were folded in her lap as she leaned forward unconsciously.

My shock and awe was short-lived, however, as the portly man's rambling picked up in tone and caught my ears.

"And for whom should we sacrifice our time if They won't support us? Who are we to them? I know the answer: nobody. We are nothing but pawns in their governmental scheme to suppress us all and control our happiness. That is why I decided to construct the C4 Bombs you see in the back of the store..."

Gasps sounded and heads whipped around as the man gestured to the area right behind her row. There, on the floor, laid four pink canisters and a large case of butane. It was then that I moved into the room, stepping towards her instinctively. The portly man came up behind me and the other stragglers who walked forward in shock at that moment, closing the doors and brusquely directing us to stand behind some arbitrary lines, now in the aisle she had been gazing down.

"None of you will be leaving this room until I say so," he stated confidently, almost laughing, as a low murmur picked up among the room's occupants. I turned and stared at him in shock-who was he to do this? What was his affiliation? How had this gotten approved by the Board? "Those of you who are eager to learn more may stay, but know that at the end of my presentation anyone left will have sworn their allegiance to me and will go down with this pathetic prison of a showcase."

At this, I whipped around, searching for her eyes as people flooded the lines we were held behind. She was still seated, looking around at the people who had chosen not to rise. A quick survey revealed that many of them were from our classes. She wasn't going to rise, I realized, a jolt of fear piercing my heart. She would never leave the other students behind.

As she surveyed the people who were either crazy or shocked enough to stay seated, her eyes drifted over the aisle and locked with mine. I inhaled sharply as recognition dawned over her features. I felt the fear and devotion run through my eyes before I could reign in the terror that had my blood thundering through my veins. She was choosing to risk death to save them despite no longer having any affiliation with them and knowing it was their choice to join the man's psychotic quest. I knew she would never abandon them-she was too good-hearted.

I moved to take a step towards her, but it was at that moment that the man released the room to leave as they pleased and the crowd rushed forward. I pushed against them, my eyes flashing between her and the bombs mere feet away from where she sat determinedly. My hands began to stretch out towards her, and I saw fear creep into her eyes as she recognized what I was going to do. She seemed to press herself into the chair she was sitting in, unwilling to consider leaving the twenty or less people still seated and staring at the man patiently.

The chaos died down and I finally broke free of the struggling people, rushing my way over to her chair and taking her hand in mine.

"_Please,_" I implored desperately, nearly whispering with the force of the emotion pulsing through my heart and mind. She said nothing yet continued to stare into my eyes with a plea for understanding. I shook my head. "We've got to get you out of here."

After a moment, I saw her old vulnerability to my will break her resolve. She rose, her hand still grasping mine, and let me lead her out of the room and into the chaotic hallway. The doors shut behind us, and she jolted back towards the room.

"Let's go, it's their choice." I tried to reason with her as I slowly pulled her away from the soon-to-be bomb site. _In a glass mall, no less,_ I thought to myself as we exited the building onto the pale beige streets covered in concrete and dust. Once we were a short distance away, heading towards the parking lot, she stopped and turned me around to face her.

"I can't," she said, "I have to go back in there for them." I couldn't control the disappointment that ran through my features.

"I can't lose you again," I murmured, nearly too quiet for her to hear. Sadness and recognition in turmoil with protection and devotion in her eyes, she lowered her gaze momentarily. I could see her piecing together a way to still help protect the people around us while staying with me as her desire slowly won over her self-sacrificing nature. She nodded gently and followed me to my car.

I drove us south, away from the chaos and back to the safety of the southern portion of the state. I had become so lost in thought that I didn't realize how quickly the drive passed. Would she even come to stay with me, especially since I had changed so much? I was no longer the naive young thing that fawned over her. My thoughts were interrupted as she stepped out of the car and into the sunlight spotted field.

She stretched slowly atop a rock, raising her arms above her head. I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her midsection, breaking our physical barrier for the first time. There was a live band somewhere in town, and their music echoed into the field quietly. She swayed to the song, my face resting against her stomach gently.

After a moment, I raised my head to look at her. Our eyes locked, her blue orbs shining with nostalgia and gratitude. She stepped down from the rock and wrapped her arms around me in return. Maintaining eye contact, she leaned and rested her forehead against mine. We breathed together quietly for a minute, growing accustomed to the closeness we had never shared in our physical bodies.

She broke our eye contact to glance down at my lips briefly. My breath caught and my heart skipped as I watched her eyes glance at me once again and drift to my lips more definitively. My lips parted in quiet surprise as I searched her eyes. She leaned in slowly, and I tilted my head to accommodate her.

Our lips locked firmly, euphoria and years of release rising from deep within my stomach to fill out and soar through my chest. I exhaled deeply, my arms rising from her waist to her back to pull her closer. Our lips molded together, equally pliant and imploring, meeting gently over and over again.

**AN: Well, there it is. Let me know what you think, and feel free to give me suggestions for plot points since this story is really in the very early stages of plot development! (Especially ideas on how to incorporate vamps...that's going to take some thought, if they ever make it in.) Reviews keep writers writing!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. That would be rad, though.

**AN: I have to say, I'm completely blown away by the feedback I've already received on this. Most first chapters I've written in the past didn't get this many followers/favorites, and the story's already been added to a community! Thank you all so much! And thank you to Alx for the reviews, I think you're right :) The plan for now, unless it becomes significantly less complicated, is to keep the story AH.**

**Anyway. It's a few days behind schedule (I had some doctor's stuff come up, ugh), but here is chapter 2! Enjoy, and if you want to beta this story for me, please send me a PM or leave a review saying so.**

**Chapter 2: Bella's POV**

My fingers ghosted over my lips as I pulled back, my heart pounding in my chest and my eyes wide as I took in her expression. She seemed as dazed as I felt, her sweet breath blowing over my lips in short bursts. She slowly stepped off of the rock, one of her hands coming to rest on my hip, our height difference now nearly reversed.

"Bella," she breathed, nearly a whisper. After a moment she spoke again, even lighter. "Bella..."

I couldn't think of anything to say. I was still reeling from the sensation of her lips parting mine.

"Thank you for pulling me out of there, I don't know what I would have done. It's not like I have some sort of superpower or anything to help that many people..."

I chuckled gently at her words, my own coming back to me finally. "I know you can be awfully persuasive, Alice."

"You're biased," she murmured, moving her hand from my hip to intertwine her fingers with mine. "And besides. I wouldn't be here with you right now."

"You're such a sap, I swear to god."

We walked further out into the field, sitting near the middle of it and gazing out at the treeline. I found myself pulled back into many memories of us visiting this particular place, before we could admit to ourselves what was happening—_and before that chance was taken away from us_, I thought darkly. I shook my head gently to banish that train of thought for the time being.

Alice turned her gaze from the edge of the forest to look at me seriously. She placed her hand gently over mine in the grass.

"I've missed you, Bella."

I tried to suppress how completely overjoyed those words made me feel. It was true—I had missed her desperately. So much so that her departure was the one that wounded me the most, the one that left me the emptiest and never really faded. I nodded, trying to reign in my wayward emotions.

"I missed you, too, Alice," I replied. "More than you know," I added quietly, not really intending for her to hear.

"But Bella, I _do_ know." She paused, looking away with a bit of guilt in her eyes. "I saw all the e-mails you sent me," she whispered. "I wasn't allowed to answer them. I was watched every minute of every day. The only time I was alone was when I used the bathroom. And then, I could only read the e-mails on my phone. They were making sure I wasn't sending any out. That's why the auto-response existed in the first place." She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, I really am."

I bit back the anger I'd been feeling for months at her departure, not wanting to ruin the moment we had created. I closed my eyes, telling myself_ It's not her fault. It's not her fault._ After a moment, I nodded.

"It's hard not to be angry, but I know where that anger should be directed. I'm sorry for some of the things I said, but after a while I figured you weren't going to get any of my messages."

"And that's my fault, and my knowledge to deal with," she replied, quite matter-of-fact. "I should have been there for you," she continued, quiet again, leaning against my shoulder. "You have no idea how hard it was not to simply run back here, to you. But we had to follow what _he_ said...what he told us was 'best' for you."

I shook my head at this, still in disbelief at how my ex-boyfriend Edward behaved—and it wasn't just this one issue. It was all the time. And I had been too blind to see it until I discovered my feelings for Alice. But it was too late then; I had become such an integral part of his life that I couldn't leave him. How ironic it was for him to leave me.

"Did he mean it? What he said about how everyone felt about me?"

Alice pulled back to look at me, confusion written all over her features. I furrowed my brow in response, not sure why she was confused.

"What do you mean, Bella? The family loves you dearly, we always have...we thought that, even though he was very strict about it, Edward was following what you asked of him."

"What _I _asked of him? _Me? _Back up a minute here, Alice, I'm not sure I'm following you." If I recalled correctly, the conversation with Edward didn't involve much asking.

**AN 2: So, this chapter was mainly some much-needed exposition for Alice and Bella. Don't worry, I'll get back to the longer, plot-filled chapters! And don't worry, those of you who are here for the lemons WILL get your lemons! But this is no PWP, so if you were looking for chapter after chapter of hot lesbian sex you might want to go read some one-shots ._. (Or maybe my story Destroy This, that's going to have a lot more hot steamy Bellice action, heh.) This story will be updated once weekly, but my side-story Drown (which you should totally check out if you like Rosalie/Esme) might be updated more often than that, since the plot for this is a lot more involved.**

**Reviews help me write better and stay on track! I want your input!**


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